On our swing through the south we stopped and visited with Catherine who charmed us with her very genuine southern hospitality and great accent (at least we think it’s an accent, since we don’t live in the south, but we know we have a ‘California’ accent!).
After finishing college and going to photography school, Catherine lived near New York and in London, worked in advertising and traveled for years as a photographer’s assistant. She was confident she would not be heading back home to the historic town of Rome, Georgia. This city of just under 40,000 is about an hour or so northwest of Atlanta, and is home to classic Antebellum estates and a quaint downtown with a Broad Street dotted with brick-facade business, some dating back almost 200 years. Like its sister across the Pond, this Rome boasts seven hills, though these roll with vibrant green fields filled with cows and country cottages.
When she was younger, thinking about her life ahead:
“When I first finished college, I worked in Connecticut just outside of New York for a year and then after art school I moved to London to find work as a photographer’s assistant, determined to have a life far, far away from Rome. It was a lot of anxiety and worry about finding the right job and the right husband…it was such a waste of time to be so terrified. I wish I had traveled more, risked more and not been so afraid of being alone. I wish I had not underestimated my potential then.”
On her life in Georgia now:
Now, she and her husband work hard to maintain that ideal and to live the way her parents and grandparents lived. “I love our almost old-fashioned sort of life and wouldn’t trade the blessing of being a wife and a mom with anything. We play outside, have family movie nights and dinners at the table together five nights a week.” Their two children (Elizabeth, 10 and Toby, 4) enjoy a type of family stability many around the world have no concept of. “We spend most of our time together as a family and we love it. As a team, we have consciously decided make sacrifices to live below our financial means so we can save for our family’s future.”
When I was in my twenties, status was what I had hoped I would have at 40…A big house, successful career and an active social life. When my children came along everything changed and it wasn’t just about me anymore.”
Catherine can see how quickly her children are growing up and whenever she hears older women advise, “Enjoy this time, it will be over before you know it,” she knows to heed their warning and savor all the fun little quirks that come from these years. “I have figured out that contentment is an attitude, a choice and happiness has nothing to do with status like I thought it would. “I aim to live for the blessings I have now rather than setting my eye on what’s next like I used to.”
Africa